High school football: Mentor crushes Brunswick, 42-0

The last time Mentor faced Brunswick, the Cardinals were left wanting, despite a 45-3 victory.
Defensive end Von Maddox said the Cardinals’ defense left too many sacks on the field, and quarterback Conner Krizancic didn’t give the offense the highest of grades, either.
“The last time we played them, we only scored 14 on them in the first half,” Krizancic said. “We said we couldn’t do that again.”
Both the Mentor offense and defense got what they wanted on Saturday night at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium.
Mentor’s defense piled up seven sacks and pitched a shutout, while the Krizancic-led offense had 14 points in the first seven minutes of the game, paving the way for a 42-0 blowout in a Division I, Region I playoff opener.
“We were impressive,” Mentor coach Steve Trivisonno said.
Mentor (10-1) has now won nine games in a row since a Week 2 loss to St. Ignatius. The Cardinals outscored NOC Valley Division foe Brunswick, 87-3, in two games this season, and are lined up to play another NOC opponent, Stow-Munroe Falls, next Saturday at a site yet to be determined.
Stow-Munroe Falls (10-1) was the River Division champion and defeated Elyria, 16-15, on Saturday to advance to the Region 1 second round.
“Maybe we can win both leagues now,” Trivisonno said with a grin.
Brunswick (6-5) was in trouble from the get-go, getting sacked on consecutive plays and then punting on the game’s opening drive. It was all downhill from there.
Mentor’s first scoring drive lasted 1 minute, 32 seconds. Its second lasted 2:27, and its third took only 39 seconds.
And that was all before the first quarter had ended.
Mentor’s offense bludgeoned Brunswick’s defense to the tune of 403-154 in total yardage.
“I think it’s all the O-line,” Krizancic said. “I say that every week, and they keep playing great.”
Krizancic did his part with another dynamic performance. He had a hand in all six Mentor touchdowns, scoring on runs of four, 12 and 11 yards. He also had touchdown passes of 12 and 8 yards to Brandon Fritts and a 20-yarder to Corey Plavcan.
After his 11-yard touchdown run to start the third quarter, the Cincinnati recruit retired for the night. The rest of Mentor’s starters did so shortly thereafter.
Krizancic finished 14-for-20 passing for 190 yards, adding 11 carries for 94 yards.
“We’re starting to get there,” Trivisonno said of his offense. “(Krizancic) is getting better and better. With the big fella (Fritts) and Corey on the other side, it’s pretty impressive.”
Not to be forgotten, Trivisonno said, was the Mentor defense, which notched its fourth shutout of the season. Brunswick didn’t cross midfield until late in the second quarter when it was already a 35-0 game.
Brunswick’s best chance to score in the second half was thwarted on a fourth-down pass that was knocked away in the end zone.
Including sack yardage, Brunswick was held to minus-26 yards rushing.
“I think they have a chip on their shoulder,” Trivisonno said.